Crutch



June 21, 1949. lWQJ. YACKLEY cRUTcH Filed om. 9, 1945 Patented June 21, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CRUTCH William J. Yackley, Peoria, Ill.

Application October 9, 1945, Serial No. 621,199

7 Claims. (Cl. 135-49) The present invention relates to crutches and is more particularly concerned with a device whereby two ordinary crutches may be joined at the top to facilitate use, in difficult positions, by one-arn1 persons or by persons having both arms.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a device of the character mentioned which can be readily locked to free the arm of a person having only one arm and as readily unlocked when the crutch is grasped" again.

Another object of the invention is to produce a duplex crutch of simpler and more compact construction than what is disclosed in prior devices.

With the foregoing and other objects and advantages in view, the invention consists of the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section midway the crutches.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail of the upper inside of one of the crutches, partly broken away.

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section on line li--l of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a detail similar in general to Figure 3 but showing a modied form of locking device.

Figure 6 is a vertical section on line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure '7 is an horizontal section on line 'I-1 of Figure 5.

Figure 8 is an horizontal section on line 8-8 of Figure 5.

Figure 9 is an enlarged detail of the upper inside of a crutch with another modification of the locking device.

Figure 10 is a vertical section on line Ill- I0 of Figure 9.

Like numerals in the description and drawings designate the same parts of construction.

The two crutches I and 2 may be of conventional typ'e and this invention may be readily applied or it can be built in at the factory. A spacer bar 3, constructed of light steel tube, preferably airplane type, joins both crutches at the top in a horizontal line just below the armpit pads 4. Cross bar 3 is provided with short lateral branches or arms 5, on the ends of which are secured half-discs 6 inverted and notched as at 7. The half-discs are preferably thin plates of suitable material and pivotally secured, centrally, as at 8, to a plate 9 which is attached to the inner side of the arm-pit support, as at I0. Plate 9 is provided with a depending projection or lug Il which is inclined forwardly to the front standard of the crutch and pivotally secured thereto is an horizontally disposed latch I2 having an upwardly projecting tongue I3 on the inner end adapted to normally engage notch 'I of the half-disc. About midway between the ends of the latch is the pivotal connection I4 with the lug II.

. At its outer end the latch I2 is pivotally attached to a vertically disposed latch-operating rod I6, the lower end of which is pivotally attached to a projecting lever I1. This lever is pivoted to the hand grasp I8 of the crutch, as at I9, and lies along side of same. Mounted thereon is a slidable band which contains the x lever also and serves as a keeper to hold the lever normally horizontal, thus raising the latch rod I6 and depressing tongue i3 of the latch. This normal position releases the engagement thereof with notch 'l and leaves the crutch free to move as desired. A latch spring 2| attached to the side of the crutch and to the latch between the latch release rod I6 and pivot I4 serves to maintain the latter in locked position when lever I1 is freed from keeper 20 and moves downwardly. It will be obvious, from the foregoing, that both crutches may be locked at the same time, if desirable, or just one crutch may be locked, depending largely whether the person is without a right or left arm. I'he advantage of this device is that a one-arm person can lock the crutches when it is desirable to use his one arm freely, as in locking or unlocking a door or doing something else which requires him to take his hand olf the crutch.

The arm supports are preferably provided with adjustable shoulder straps 22 attached to plates 23 which project inwardly a suicient distance to position the straps well on the shoulders.

The modified form of locking device, illustrated in Figure 5, is used in conjunction with spacer bar 3 and a half-disc. In this form of the invention, the half-disc 24 is pivotally attached centrally, as at 25, to a plate 26 which is fastened to the arm support like plate 9 in the preferred form. Plate 26 is provided with a vertically depending lug 2l which has a vertical slot 28 on the vertical median line, through which projects the laterally bent end 29 of a locking-rod 30'. The end 29 normally rests in an arcuate slot 3l, in half-disc 2li, which is positioned concentrically.- At the bottom of said slot is a notch 32 which rod-end 29 engages when the locking rod 39 is drawn downwardly by handle 33 on its lower end 29 out of notch 32 when the handle 33 is pushed up, as in Figure 5.

Another modification of the locking deviceis illustrated in Figure 9. The lateral arms 5 f spacer bar 3 are secured to discs 37, which, as in the preferred form, arel .pivotally attached to plates 4| secured on thearm-lpit supports 4.

Discs 31 are pivoted centrally on pivot 'pirislasv at 38, and are provided ccncentrically with a plurality of convex projections 39 whichprotrude on their` outer facesy andere adapted to engage Withconcave recesses lm in the abutting plates 4 I. These recesses lare arranged concentrically with theypivot pinsl 3 8 and register with projections `39. Coil'springsg412 are mounted on pins 38 between the heads thereof and `discs 3l with suicient play topermit-'disc 31 to be partially rotated and its projections seated as desired, thus allowing the crutches :to belocked and unlocked. The discs 3 I in lthis form v'of the invention are turnedby hand. l

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by -Letters Patent'is: ,A

1. In combination, 'a p air of'crutches, each of saidcrutches having an armpit support-'a hand grasp yon`each of said crutches, a spacer-element extending between said crutches,l a plate carried by 'each'end'oi 'said spacer-elemente plate prol vided with a notch on'each of said arm-'pit supports. the plates of `.said 'spacer element being'pivot'ally secured to the'plates respectively of said arm-pit 'supports,`a'pivoted latch on each of-said crutches andadapted to'ehgage with the notch i of the spacerelement'and pivotally 'mounted on the complementalpl'ate of said-armf-pit support, an arcuate slotin each-,spacer element plate .positioned concentrically `about the pivot and provided withl a median' notch, a vertically slidable cured to the 'arm-"pit supports and provided with a lateral projection adapted to engage said arcuate slot, and means on the hand-grasps of the crutches for engaging and disengaging said projection and said median notch.

4. In combination, a pair of crutches, each of said crutches having an arm-pit support, a spacer element adapted to suitably space the crutches apart at the arm-pit supports, two sets of conc`eiitrically pivt'ed plates, drie plate'o'f "each set secured to the respective `arm-pit supports and the other one of each set of the respective ends Lf the spacer element, yieldable pivot pins join- ;ing the plates of the respective sets, and a plurality of concentrically disposed surface irregufl'aritie's'n-the abutting faces of said plates adapted to be put in engagement with each other by 'turriirigthe plate's'which are secured to the spacer element.

5. In combination, a pair of crutches, each of said crutches having an arm-pit supporta hand grasp on each of said-crutches, aA spacer bar extending-between said'crutches'and having its ends thereof connectedto said crutches contiguous to the arm-pit supports `of thelatteL-alocking device in' association with'each -ofsa'id'arm-pit-supports, `and 4means on the hand -Agrasps of the crutches 'for Aoperating lsaid vlocking devices.

6. In combination, a pair of crutches, each of said crutches having an'armhpit support, a hand grasp on each `of `saidcrutcl1es,a Vspacer Vbar extending between-said'crutches and' having its ends thereof connected -to said' crutches-contiguous to the arm-pit supports of the latter, a plate Aprovided withfa notch H'on each -of fsaiclfarrriipit :supports, a latch on each of *said crutches and adaptedto coact Withthenotch' of the plate complemental thereto,'and means onthehand grasps of "the crutches wfor-moving thelatches intovand out of engagement with the respective 'notches of said'lpla'tes.

7. In -com-binatiomfa p'air of'crutches, eachiof said crutches having an arm-pit'supportahand grasp on'rea'ch lofisaidcrutchesfa spacer bar Vex Y tending between fsaidcrutches, 'a Vdisc-pivotally A mounted on "each of 'fs-aid f arm-'pit supports and xedly secured to the adjacent en`d"of`sai'd spacer bar, said discbeing'fprovided with an interengageablein'eans, anda-locking element operatively 'conn'ected 'to each"'d-isc^an'd movable 4into and out of engagement with said engageabl'e means.

WILLIAM J. YACKLE'Y.

REFERENCES CITED i Thefollowing vreferenties"are'of record in the le of this patent:

UNITEDSTATES PTENTS Number I Name `D=ate V1,709,501 Taylor -Apr.`16, 1929 FDREIGNlPA'IENTs Number d .'Country' Y Date,

135,275 GreatBrta'in Nov. 18, 1919 

